Have students line up quietly and build teamwork, communication, and leadership skills at the same time. When students get antsy and attempt to ‘migrate' to the door before lunch and at the end of the day before the bell rings. Allow them line up, but with one catch . . . , have them line up in some sort of unusual order — by height (big to small, small to big), by shoe size, alphabetical order by middle name, etc. By doing this they have to figure out the correct order by themselves, with no help from me. I would have them figure it out without talking too! Since the students can't leave until they have the correct order, they will have to learn to work well with one another. I would incorporate this activity once or twice a week and follow it by a debriefing the next day or after lunch to discuss what went well, what didn't, and what could have been done differently to make the activity go more smoothly.
Secret Walkers At the beginning of the day, secretly pick one child in the class to be your "Secret Walker" for the day. If this child moves appropriately in line, the whole class "wins" an opportunity to receive a treat for the day. Since the class doesn't know who the secret walker is, they are usually motivated to do their best. Recognizing the successful "Secret Walker" encourages their positive participation even more. If the "Secret Walker" does poorly, it is best not to mention who that student was to the rest of the class. Just letting the class know they weren't successful this day will make the students who didn't do well think about how they could have helped their classmates in a better way. You can always take this student aside a little later and discuss how their actions hurt themselves and their classmates. This is also a good activity by which to discuss cooperation with the students -- on both the part of the "Secret Walker" and those classmates who may get upset and begin to blame a student who they they think was the unsuccessful "Secret Walker".
Brain Breaks Physical activity throughout the school day is necessary for children to reenergize themselves and to be able to maintain focus on their school work. Being involved in movement positively affects children both cognitively and physically. Have the class do crossover exercises such as: touch their left elbow to the right knee and then do the reverse. Or, have your students hold their arms out in front, cross arms at the wrist area, turn their palms down and in toward each other, clasp fingers together, pull clasped hands under and up through their arms in front of their chest and reverse the action. For another exercise, ask them to put their right index finger and thumb on their nose, and touch their right ear with their left index finger and thumb. Say, “When I say ‘change!’ reverse the position of your hands.” Each of these may be done several times.
Transition Music Using transition music in the classroom can allow the teacher to cue class expectations non-verbally. By linking these transition songs to the smart board, the songs are always handy on the board. Each song is linked to a certain transitional expectation, which is taught to the class one song at a time at the beginning of the school year. There are set songs for lining up, cleaning up, moving to a new location, meeting at the carpet or whole group teaching area, share time, etc.
- Clean Up Chime- NBC chime
- Move to New Location- Password
- Line Up- short version of the Andy Griffith theme song
- Meet at the Carpet- Cagney & Lacey
- Think, Pair, Share time- Beethoven's Minuet in G
- P.O.D. Mission Math (Problem of the Day time)- Mission Impossible theme song
Routines Routines—also known as classroom procedures—rid students of distractions that waste time and interfere with learning.
In my classroom, students follow the classroom procedures and we stick to the classroom schedule as closely as we can. Guesswork is minimized. Minor frustrations and inconveniences are fewer, as are opportunities for misbehavior. The students, then, are left to focus on learning. For everything your students do in your classroom repetitively, there should be a routine.
If the students know what to do and how to do it during every transitional or procedural moment of the school day, they can more easily attend to what is most important. Furthermore, adding more responsibility and purpose is a surefire way to boost morale.
Attention Grabbers Brief attention grabbers like the ones mention above are a great way to get the students attention to either give further instructions or to refocus their attention on the task at hand.
Time Fillers When I have a few extra minutes between activities, I will occasionally break out a "Minute to Win it" game for the class to play. Most of the activities require only a few volunteers, however some can utilize the entire class. Here is one of my favorite "Minute to Win it" games.
Transition Chants A short catchy chant will quickly grab their attention and hold it until time for the next activity. They make great brain breaks as well. Here are a few that I found:
Movement Chant
Touch your shoulders, Touch your knees
Raise you arms and drop them please
Touch your ankles and your toes
Pull you ears and then your nose
With your feet go Stomp, Stomp, Stomp
With your fingers go Snap, Snap, Snap
Stretch as high as high can be
While your there clap one, two, three
Stretch up to the ceiling
Down to the floor
Left to the window
Right to the door
This is my right hand raise it up high
This is my left hand reach for the sky
Left hand, right hand, turn around
Right hand, left hand, pound, pound
On my head my hands I place
On my shoulders, on my face
On my hips, and at my side
Then behind me they will hide (we whisper at this point)
I can make them jump so high! (use regular voice)
Quickly make my fingers fly!
Place them out in front of me
Quickly clap one two three
Two hands go clap, clap, clap
Two little feet go tap, tap, tap
Two little hand go thump, thump, thump
Two little feet go jump, jump, jump
One little body turns around
Everybody sits quietly down!
Come to the Carpet Chant
5, 6, 7, 8
Come to the carpet
use your walking feet
Come to the carpet
moving to the beat
Come to the carpet
be careful no to shout
and don't forget that when you sit
to have a quiet mouth
Criss cross apple sauce
hands on lap ginger snap
back straight chocolate shake
root beer lips zipped cool whipped
ssshhhhh
Minimize Transition Times Stick to the lesson plan as best as you can. Try to plan an adequate amount of work for the allotted time frame. This will minimize any wait time between activities and events. By doing this students will be less likely to get distracted and will stay focused on their learning.
Free Time Choices When students finish their work early have them choose an activity listed on the "What will I do now?" board. These activities will keep the students who finish quickly something to do while the rest of the students are completing their assignments. This will limit distractions and opportunities for student misbehavior.
Transition Cards Transitions cards are visual representations of transitions and activities that happen throughout the school day. They display the day's schedule which can help Individuals on the Autism Spectrum move successfully from one activity to another.
Ticket Out The Door The Ticket out the Door is a great way to transition from the school day as they get ready to leave for the day. Students answer a question on a sticky note and post it on the Ticket Out The Door bulletin board spot that has their student number. This is great for formative assessment and can be used for any subject! It shows what the student learned that day and gives the teacher feed back on what activities stuck the most, which can help him/her plan better in the future.
Creative Ways to Line Up
Have students line up quietly and build teamwork, communication, and leadership skills at the same time. When students get antsy and attempt to ‘migrate' to the door before lunch and at the end of the day before the bell rings. Allow them line up, but with one catch . . . , have them line up in some sort of unusual order — by height (big to small, small to big), by shoe size, alphabetical order by middle name, etc. By doing this they have to figure out the correct order by themselves, with no help from me. I would have them figure it out without talking too! Since the students can't leave until they have the correct order, they will have to learn to work well with one another. I would incorporate this activity once or twice a week and follow it by a debriefing the next day or after lunch to discuss what went well, what didn't, and what could have been done differently to make the activity go more smoothly.Secret Walkers
At the beginning of the day, secretly pick one child in the class to be your "Secret Walker" for the day. If this child moves appropriately in line, the whole class "wins" an opportunity to receive a treat for the day. Since the class doesn't know who the secret walker is, they are usually motivated to do their best. Recognizing the successful "Secret Walker" encourages their positive participation even more. If the "Secret Walker" does poorly, it is best not to mention who that student was to the rest of the class. Just letting the class know they weren't successful this day will make the students who didn't do well think about how they could have helped their classmates in a better way. You can always take this student aside a little later and discuss how their actions hurt themselves and their classmates. This is also a good activity by which to discuss cooperation with the students -- on both the part of the "Secret Walker" and those classmates who may get upset and begin to blame a student who they they think was the unsuccessful "Secret Walker".
Brain Breaks
Physical activity throughout the school day is necessary for children to reenergize themselves and to be able to maintain focus on their school work. Being involved in movement positively affects children both cognitively and physically. Have the class do crossover exercises such as: touch their left elbow to the right knee and then do the reverse. Or, have your students hold their arms out in front, cross arms at the wrist area, turn their palms down and in toward each other, clasp fingers together, pull clasped hands under and up through their arms in front of their chest and reverse the action. For another exercise, ask them to put their right index finger and thumb on their nose, and touch their right ear with their left index finger and thumb. Say, “When I say ‘change!’ reverse the position of your hands.” Each of these may be done several times.
Transition Music
Using transition music in the classroom can allow the teacher to cue class expectations non-verbally. By linking these transition songs to the smart board, the songs are always handy on the board. Each song is linked to a certain transitional expectation, which is taught to the class one song at a time at the beginning of the school year. There are set songs for lining up, cleaning up, moving to a new location, meeting at the carpet or whole group teaching area, share time, etc.
- Clean Up Chime- NBC chime
- Move to New Location- Password
- Line Up- short version of the Andy Griffith theme song
- Meet at the Carpet- Cagney & Lacey
- Think, Pair, Share time- Beethoven's Minuet in G
- P.O.D. Mission Math (Problem of the Day time)- Mission Impossible theme song
Routines
Routines—also known as classroom procedures—rid students of distractions that waste time and interfere with learning.
In my classroom, students follow the classroom procedures and we stick to the classroom schedule as closely as we can. Guesswork is minimized. Minor frustrations and inconveniences are fewer, as are opportunities for misbehavior. The students, then, are left to focus on learning. For everything your students do in your classroom repetitively, there should be a routine.
If the students know what to do and how to do it during every transitional or procedural moment of the school day, they can more easily attend to what is most important. Furthermore, adding more responsibility and purpose is a surefire way to boost morale.
Attention Grabbers
Brief attention grabbers like the ones mention above are a great way to get the students attention to either give further instructions or to refocus their attention on the task at hand.
Time Fillers
When I have a few extra minutes between activities, I will occasionally break out a "Minute to Win it" game for the class to play. Most of the activities require only a few volunteers, however some can utilize the entire class. Here is one of my favorite "Minute to Win it" games.
Transition Chants
A short catchy chant will quickly grab their attention and hold it until time for the next activity. They make great brain breaks as well. Here are a few that I found:
Movement Chant
Touch your shoulders, Touch your knees
Raise you arms and drop them please
Touch your ankles and your toes
Pull you ears and then your nose
With your feet go Stomp, Stomp, Stomp
With your fingers go Snap, Snap, Snap
Stretch as high as high can be
While your there clap one, two, three
Stretch up to the ceiling
Down to the floor
Left to the window
Right to the door
This is my right hand raise it up high
This is my left hand reach for the sky
Left hand, right hand, turn around
Right hand, left hand, pound, pound
On my head my hands I place
On my shoulders, on my face
On my hips, and at my side
Then behind me they will hide (we whisper at this point)
I can make them jump so high! (use regular voice)
Quickly make my fingers fly!
Place them out in front of me
Quickly clap one two three
Two hands go clap, clap, clap
Two little feet go tap, tap, tap
Two little hand go thump, thump, thump
Two little feet go jump, jump, jump
One little body turns around
Everybody sits quietly down!
Come to the Carpet Chant
5, 6, 7, 8
Come to the carpet
use your walking feet
Come to the carpet
moving to the beat
Come to the carpet
be careful no to shout
and don't forget that when you sit
to have a quiet mouth
Criss cross apple sauce
hands on lap ginger snap
back straight chocolate shake
root beer lips zipped cool whipped
ssshhhhh
Minimize Transition Times
Stick to the lesson plan as best as you can. Try to plan an adequate amount of work for the allotted time frame. This will minimize any wait time between activities and events. By doing this students will be less likely to get distracted and will stay focused on their learning.
Free Time Choices
When students finish their work early have them choose an activity listed on the "What will I do now?" board. These activities will keep the students who finish quickly something to do while the rest of the students are completing their assignments. This will limit distractions and opportunities for student misbehavior.
Transition Cards
Transitions cards are visual representations of transitions and activities that happen throughout the school day. They display the day's schedule which can help Individuals on the Autism Spectrum move successfully from one activity to another.
Ticket Out The Door
The Ticket out the Door is a great way to transition from the school day as they get ready to leave for the day. Students answer a question on a sticky note and post it on the Ticket Out The Door bulletin board spot that has their student number. This is great for formative assessment and can be used for any subject! It shows what the student learned that day and gives the teacher feed back on what activities stuck the most, which can help him/her plan better in the future.